Mission Statement
The Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies has long been recognized as a pioneer in the training of clinical psychologists. The Institute was founded in 1951 and became the nation’s first university-based professional school of psychology in 1972. Today, the Institute houses an array of programs emphasizing professional practice integrating psychological science and research through its undergraduate psychology program, master’s program in general psychology, mental health counseling, and school psychology, APA accredited Ph.D. program in clinical psychology and postgraduate programs in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. We are committed to training professionals to meet the needs of a diverse and global society.

The Derner Institute educates students in the discipline of psychology—one that is grounded in both the social and natural sciences; and committed to scholarship, research, and practice that are sensitive to multicultural issues, and integrative of multiple psychological perspectives from cognitive, social, developmental, and psychodynamic perspectives. We provide students at all levels with a rigorous, empirically informed education in psychology that prepares them to be lifelong learners and well-trained professionals who combine scholarly inquiry and professional service. Our faculty draws on and contributes to the evolving body of knowledge about the workings of the human mind and behavior, while our training emphasizes helping students to transform the ways in which they make meaning and relate to others through psychology—our training requires critical reasoning, intellectual rigor, creative imagination, and empathic capacity to work with diverse individuals, groups, and families.


Programs of Study

Undergraduate Programs

1. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Psychology
2. Minor in Psychology

Graduate Programs

1. Master of Arts (M.A.) in General Psychology
2. Master of Arts (M.A.) in Mental Health Counseling
3. Master of Arts (M.A.) in School Psychology
4. Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Clinical Psychology
5. Respecialization in Clinical Psychology (Certificate Program)
6. Postgraduate Certificate Programs
   1. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
   2. Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy
   3. Child, Adolescent, and Family Psychotherapy
   4. Group Psychotherapy
   5. Marriage and Couple Therapy
   6. Psychoanalytic Supervision
   7. Psychodynamic School Psychology